Mentoring & Training
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
- 2021 – Psychology Department, Graduate Teaching Award
(Also nominated for the All-University Graduate Teaching Award) - 2020 – UVA Psychology Dept., Rebecca Boone Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching
[$750] - 2020 – UVA Honor Committee, Honorable Mention (Recognizing people who exemplify honorable behavior)
“As her research assistant, Meltem invests in my future and my learning experience. She sets an excellent example of commitment to honor, and provides me with countless opportunities to grow as a researcher. Through every phase of a study, she preaches transparency. This semester, I was fortunately awarded two research grants. Meltem stressed the importance of being honest with the different organizations and guided me through the process of informing each of the other grants. This honorable behavior was well-received by the organizations and well-respected by me. Meltem’s strong character makes me thankful to have her as a mentor.” – Madeline Brence (Arts & Sciences Undergraduate)
STUDENTS ADVISED
Honors/Independent Study Students
Lindsay Schwartzman (2022-Present, Duke University)
2024 Internship Funding Program [$4,000]
- 2024 Internship Funding Program [$4,000]
Elissa Harris (Duke University)
- 2022 – 2023 Independent Study Student
- 2023 Duke Psychology & Neuroscience Lafitte Travel Award [$1,500]
- 2022 Duke Undergraduate Research Support, Independent Study Grant [$400]
- 2022 Psychology & Neuroscience Undergraduate Small Grant [$400]
- 2022 University of Virginia Diversifying Psychology Days
- 2022 Psi Chi International Honor Society Member
- 2022 The National Name Exchange Member
Madeline Brence (UVA, Current Position: Ph.D. student at UVA)
- 2021 – 2022 Raven Fellowship Recipient [$2,500]
- 2020 – 2021 Harrison Undergraduate Research Grant Recipient [$4,000]
- 2020 Semester Scholars Award Recipient [$995]
Jenna Marzougui (UVA)
- 2020 Psychological Society Award
- 2020 Research Excellence in Psychology Laboratory
- 2020 Elected Member of the Raven Society (UVA’s oldest and most prestigious honor society)
- 2019 – 2020 Distinguished Majors Thesis student
- 2019 Minerva Award Recipient [$3,000]
Research Assistants and Interns:
- Caroline Sangvai (2024-Present, Duke University)
- Brooke Weiner (2024, Duke University)
- Hannah Auddino (2024, Duke University)
- Leah Kim (2024, Duke University)
- Sema Merve Balcık (2023-Present, Duke University)
- Jennifer Hu (2023-24, Duke University)
- Emma Xiong (2023, Duke University)
- Janvi Kavathia (2022-24, Duke University)
- Justin Kim (2022-23, Duke University)
- Casey Dies (2022, Cornell University)
- Esha Sheth (2021-22, Cornell University)
- Dana Karami (2021-22, Cornell University)
- Hope Yehl (2019-21, UVA), Achievements: 2021 Research Excellence in Psychology Laboratory
- Madeleine F. Mitchell (2016-19, UVA), Achievements: 2017-19 Double Hoo Student [$10,000]
- Angelica Bosko (2019, UVA)
- Nancy Hernandez (2019 UVA, Leadership Alliance Intern), Achievements: McNair Scholar
- Kimberly Cancel-Vargas (2019 UVA, Leadership Alliance Intern)
- Daniela Alvarez-Vargas (2018, UVA)
- Marie Grace Martinez (2016-19, UVA), Achievements: Research Excellence in Psychology Laboratory
- Michelle Winkler-Mallma (2016-19, UVA)
- Anne Kresge (2016-18, UVA)
- Maura Austin (2016-17, UVA)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Future Leaders Fellowship Mentor, American Society of Microbiology
2025 – 2026
- Selected as a global mentor for ASM’s prestigious Future Leaders Fellowship, supporting early-career microbiologists from around the world.
- Contributed to a year-round community of learning by guiding fellows through leadership, scientific communication, and career development.
- Supported the development of innovative, inclusive teaching and research practices aligned with global scientific advancement.
- Engaged in mentor training and network-building designed to foster lifelong learning and strengthen mentorship in the microbial sciences.
Postdoctoral Mentor, Duke University
2022 – 2024
- Designed and led interactive training modules for high school and undergraduate interns
- Provided formative and summative feedback on student lab performance and reports
- Emphasized reflective learning through feedback-based skill development
Teaching Assistant, Central University of Kerala
2014 – 2015
- GEN 515: Microbiology and Biochemistry Lab
- Delivered hands-on lab instruction and individualized student feedback
- Used guided questions and peer discussion to support engagement
Postdoctoral Mentor, Duke University
2022 – 2024
Spring 2019, Introduction to Social Psychology (Dr. Timothy Wilson)
Responsible for revamped the syllabus
Scheduled and led TA meetings with the professor and three other TAs
2015 – 2021 : REVIEW TEACHING ASSISTANT
- Spring 2019, Introduction to Social Psychology (Dr. Timothy Wilson)
- Led weekly seminars and provided feedback on weekly writing assignments
- Graded two papers for the main course (120 papers total)
- Fall 2018, Introduction to Child Psychology (Dr. Angeline Lillard)
- Led weekly seminars and provided feedback on weekly writing assignments.
- Gave a guest lecture to the entire class on Moral Development
- Participated in Child Fest where we demonstrated developmental concepts covered in class on children
- Spring 2018, Introduction to Social Psychology (Dr. Timothy Wilson)
- Led weekly seminars and provided feedback on weekly writing assignments
- Graded two papers for the main course (154 papers total)
2015 – 2021 : REVIEW TEACHING ASSISTANT
- Spring 2019, Introduction to Social Psychology< (Dr. Timothy Wilson)
- Led weekly seminars and provided feedback on weekly writing assignments
- Graded two papers for the main course (120 papers total)
- Fall 2018, Introduction to Child Psychology(Dr. Angeline Lillard)
- Led weekly seminars and provided feedback on weekly writing assignments.
- Gave a guest lecture to the entire class on Moral Development
- Participated in Child Fest where we demonstrated developmental concepts covered in class on children
- Spring 2018, Introduction to Social Psychology (Dr. Timothy Wilson)
- Led weekly seminars and provided feedback on weekly writing assignments
- Graded two papers for the main course (154 papers total)
2015 – 2021 : REVIEW TEACHING ASSISTANT
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- Spring 2021, Introduction to Child Psychology (Dr. Amrisha Vaish)
- Wrote exams
- Led review sessions in advance of those exams
- Fall 2020, Introduction to Cognition (Dr. Mariana Teles Santos Golino)
- Wrote weekly quizzes
- Led weekly online review sessions
- Spring 2020, Infant Development (Dr. Tobias Grossmann)
- Wrote and graded exams
- Led review sessions in advance of those exams
- Led two article discussion sessions with all students
- Spring 2016,Research Methods and Data Analysis II (Dr. Karen Schmidt)
- font-size: large;”>Led weekly review sessions
- Graded approximately 350 midterms
- Fall 2015, Introduction to Child Psychology (Dr. Angeline Lillard)
- Led exam review sessions
- Wrote 60+ multiple choice exam questions per exam (for 4 exams)
- Spring 2021, Introduction to Child Psychology (Dr. Amrisha Vaish)
OZYEGIN UNIVERSITY
2011 2015 – UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT
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- Fall 2013, Introduction to Psychology (Dr. Deniz Tahiroğlu)
I believe meaningful learning happens when students feel supported, included, and actively engaged. I create inclusive, interactive experiences using diverse strategies like image-based prompts, collaborative activities, and real-world applications to make learning dynamic and accessible.
Support in my classroom means clear communication, intentional scaffolding, and feedback that promotes growth. I view teaching as a two-way dialogue, grounded in trust and reflection.
A student once shared, “You took the time to explain everything in a way I could understand and never made me feel out of place. Because of you, I now feel confident pursuing science in college.” Moments like that remind me why I teach.
TEACHING DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING
- Johns Hopkins Teaching Institute for Postdocs – Applied UDL & feedback design (2025)
- BYTE Workshop Series – Branding Your Teaching Excellence (2025)
- The Postdoc Academy : Inclusive STEM Teaching Project (2023)
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS
Preparing Future Faculty
Duke University North Carolina State University (July 2024)
- Selected for Duke’s competitive yearlong fellowship program designed to prepare PhD students and postdocs for faculty roles in diverse academic institutions.
- Participated in intensive professional development workshops on pedagogy, academic career paths, inclusive teaching, and faculty service.
- Mentored by Dr. Ashley Brown (Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, NC State University), gaining cross-institutional experience in teaching, research, and academic governance within an R1 university setting.
Neurobehavior and Neuroscience Methods Workshop
Intensive Workshop- One-week in-person interactive course| Stanford Program for Integrated Neuroscience Technologies (SPrINT) , Stanford Medicine (June 2025)
- Focused on practical, mechanistic, and ethological aspects of rodent behavioral testing, with emphasis on applications in drug discovery and neurodegenerative disease models.
- Gained hands-on experience in key behavioral paradigms: Learning & memory, sensory & motor, anxiety & depression, and addiction models.
- Acquired training in advanced techniques including Drug administration routes, Stereotaxic surgery, brain cannulation, and infusion, Fiber photometry and microdialysis, Tissue collection, whole-brain clearing, and immunostaining
Johns Hopkins Teaching Institute for Doctoral Students and Postdoctoral Fellows
Multi-day Online Workshop | Johns Hopkins University (June 2025)
- Completed a comprehensive training program designed to develop effective and inclusive university-level teaching practices.
- Gained practical skills in active learning strategies, formative assessment, and fostering inclusive classroom environments.
- Facilitating a micro-teaching session with structured feedback.
- Developed strategies to improve student learning outcomes and engage diverse learners using evidence-based teaching methods.
- Strengthened ability to serve as a reflective and adaptive instructor in higher education settings.
Compass Leadership and Management Training and Mentoring Program (Scheduled Fall 2025)
Supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), NIH (Grant No. R25GM143346)|Washington University School of Medicine (September 2025)
Will participate in a cross-disciplinary, multi-week training program designed for early-career researchers to develop leadership and management skills in the academic research environment
Have any query?
My location
Duke Molecular Physiology Institute
300 North Duke Street, Durham, NC 27701